In praise of needs must
A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to be invited to a Book Reveal party for Life in the Camel Lane by my friend, Doreen Cumberford. Doreen’s book, about life in Saudi Arabia, was inspired by the many years she spent there and so there were attendees from all over the world on the Zoom call. Doreen’s book came out while she was ‘misplaced in Mexico’ and unable to celebrate her newly published ‘baby’ in person in Denver, Colorado as she had planned. Zoom was the next best thing. Or was it actually a better thing?
In the 14 weeks or so since the world went into lockdown, things have changed. We have had to think differently about the way we live and the way we do business and Doreen’s Book Reveal is a great example of the positive impact acting differently has had. Before now, book launch parties had typically been live and local events. Now ‘needs must when the devil drives’ as the saying goes, which means that something is necessary but unpleasant. I didn’t want to run my workshops and writers’ circles online via Zoom. I had been resistant to it for years. I liked running them from home in a room with real people, a flipchart and chocolate covered raisins. But when the chips were down and I had no choice, I took a deep breath and dived in. And you know, it’s okay. In fact, it’s better than okay because now people can attend my events who are not restricted by the cost of travel. My costs are reduced so I can afford to run things for free or for less money. Everyone wins.
Doreen’s Book Reveal, as I said, had over 50 attendees from all over the world. As she read from her book, her inspired and knowledgeable book publicist, Mary Walewski, of www.buythebookmarketing.com took a look on Amazon and saw that already Life in the Camel Lane was the #1 New Release on Amazon in the Middle East Travel category.
Mary Walewski is a great example of someone else who has embraced the ‘new normal’ and found a way to make gold out of the current situation. A Book Reveal party is not the only idea she has up her sleeve and if you would like to watch her webinar on ‘social distance marketing for authors’ then you can see it by clicking the image below:
